Blogosphere:

Meta:

Facebook Feed:

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is the day to celebrate the strongest power in the universe. Love. So since we are all slaves to it, in one fashion or another, here the music of the day:

Have you seen the movie, Chocolat? You know the one where Juliette Binoche plays Vianne, a woman who through her chocolate confections, changes peoples lives by unleashing their hidden desires? Who has a knack for guessing the favorite confections of the people in the village based on a basic understanding of the human desire? Where until she lets her own desires take over, she cannot guess the favorite chocolate of the one she secretly desires- aka Johnny Depp? Well I guess I have always fancied myself a cook’s version of this archetype. The Kitchen Witch. Who through blending the perfect balance of tastes and textures can win the heart of any person. I truly believe that the way to anyone’s heart is through food, not the physical food itself, but the energy that goes into it as you prepare it. This is not just a means to a romantic end either, this is love in all its incarnations.

Cooking is very ritualistic- you have the sacred space dedicated to it- the kitchen, you have your implements- whisks, knives, spoons, spatulas and then there are your magical potions and properties – herb, spices and ingredients. When it comes down to it, it is all very mysterious what happens in a kitchen, that which turns common ingredients into mouth watering delicacies.

So inspired by the movie Chocolat, I decided to replicate Vianne’s Mayan Hot Chocolate- spicy chili peppers paired with rich dark chocolate. It is MY favorite. What could be more soothing than a nice hot cup of liquid chocolate? What brings back memories of childhood better than hot chocolate? Well, this is not your mom’s hot chocolate! If anyone needs to spice up their love life or wishes to give a truly decadent treat to their lover, this is the perfect recipe.

The dark chocolate taste is smooth and thick as you first sip it, but then there is a surprise ending, the kick of chili in the back that just warms up your whole body and could certainly melt the coldest of hearts! Not to mention what it can heat up…
The real beauty is that you can whip this up really quick, because you most likely have all the ingredients already – that way you can get back to spending time with the one you love a lot quicker.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk. Add the hot cocoa, the cocoa powder and spices and mix until blended. Serve in beautiful red mugs and garnish with a dollop of whipped cream- I put a little Frangelico in mine.

This is soooooooo good. Lately, I’ve been drinking some hot chocolate in the evenings but never spiced it. This I will definitely try tonight and get my hubby to try it as well….! I like the music you have incorporated in your recipes, it’s nice reading and listening to the music and the film, yes I’ve seen it, it was great.

Happy Hallmark holiday! Hehehe. I love the movie chocolat, that’s one of the few French movies I can stand, and I love Mayan chocolate, too. My grandma made a sweet/spicy corn drink that was really good. She is Mixtecan, not quite Mayan, but some drinks and food are similar. I also agree that cooking is very ritualistic, when we cook we make magic happen, oh yeah!

Thanks Ivy! Isn’t there something wonderful about indulging in a little hot chocolate in the evenings, with your sweetheart! I hope you guys like the spiced up version. I am also glad to hear that you are enjoying the music!

Thanks Peter! Yeah, I guess I am the same way you are when it comes to kitchening. And hey, how’d you know about my chin hairs?

Yes, Nina, that move does help in the areas of romance..*wink, wink* It is my favorite way to drink hot cocoa.

Hey Ben! Well, it may be a Hallmark Holiday, but I do love the sentiment behind it. I know I am a romantic. blah blah. mmmm…that corn drink sounds very intruging.

C’mon Judy’s DH, get on over here and make this for her!!!!

It is so good Courtney! Amazing really how well they go together.

Happy V Day to you too, Kat!

Thanks Heather! This picture was actually taken after my hair/ makeup trial for the wedding. Roberto was waiting camera in hand for me to come home. So we did a series and I liked this one the best out of all of them! I like my glasses too! Yes, I have had Xocolatl – it is freaking awesome!

if u like Chocolat…may be you should read “100 shades of white”…its an amazing book about this lady who loves to cook and uses various spices or mixes in her food based on peoples emotions etc…its a lovely book!! Happy valentine’s day to u too!!

Thanks for this recipe! We decided to do hot chocolate for Christmas Eve this year and since dinner was spicy chili and my wife & I love all things spicy, I decided to make ours Mayan. This one will be saved and made often!

Hi there!
I could not agree more! MY all time favorite bar of chocolate is Lindt Chili
Have you had it? I buy it on a regular basis for my daily chocolate fix. I am glad for your hot chocolate recipe too. I will wait till the temperature dips a bit here.

Chilli-numeg spiced hot chocolate. I’ll try that soon! I’ve been trying different types of spicy hot chocolate, and I am beginning to move away from cinammon because it overwhelms all the other flavors (or maybe I’ve been drinking it too much :-). Thanks!

Can i substitute the powder chocolate with Abuelitas Chocolate? I mean, each powder has a different taste. So…idk. If you’ve made Hot Chocolate with Abuelitas Chocolate would there be much of a difference in taste with the chocolate you used?

I am disappointed that several of the recipes that I’ve seen so far don’t use unrefined cacao as stated in the movie Chocolat. There are good ideas, but they all use some form of processed chocolate. I would like the real deal.

Leave a comment

Name :Required

Email :Required

Website :

Comment :

Thank you so much for all your comments. I enjoy reading each and every single one of them. Please keep them coming because I do appreciate the feedback and I apologize that I can't respond to everyone individially. See you in the blogosphere!